Dinner Tonight: Mac and Cheese

Is there any single dish in America more popular than Macaroni and Cheese? It’s so big now that the swankiest of restaurants serve it with lobster and truffles. A much more humble version, yet still homemade (no shiny blue box!), is the recipe made by Mary Beam of Gibsonburg, Ohio. She got it from a book called Volunteer Favorites, which was published by the Sandusky River Chapter of the American Red Cross. The mac and cheese recipe was submitted by Barb Jacoby, and as written it calls for margarine. We’re going to suggest butter as a possible substitute because … well, just because.

Macaroni and Cheese

2¼ cups boiling water

1 (8-ounce) package macaroni, uncooked

1 (16-ounce tub) cottage cheese

1 (8-ounce package) American cheese, cubed

¼ cup (½ stick) melted margarine OR butter1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°.

Mix into the boiling water the macaroni, cottage cheese, American Cheese, margarine (or butter), and salt. Pour into an oven-proof pan and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

— Mary Beam

Have a recipe that is fast and healthy? Send it to food@theblade.com or Dinner Tonight, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660.